4/3/2

1. Choose one of the following to teach/present:

   • Choose a concept/problem/example in your field that you could explain to an undergrad in just a few minutes

   • Choose 2–3 slides from one of your class or conference presentations

   • Choose 2–3 slides from an interesting presentation you find on SlideShare, Speaker Deck, or Prezi

   • Choose a brief online article you are interested in telling someone about in English

2. Unless you're using existing slides, spend 5 minutes outlining the main points/important details you want to mention (Do not write a transcript!!!)

3. Set a timer for 4 minutes and give your talk (either to an imaginary audience or to a partner. If you give your talk to an imaginary audience, don't let yourself start over if you make a mistake! Just continue on—you can correct your mistake when you give your talk in 3 minutes.)

4. Set the timer for 3 minutes and give your talk again

5. Set the timer for 2 minutes and give your talk again (Can you sense that this time you were more fluent and more accurate—and you used more complex language—than when you gave your talk the first time?)

Teachers' Corner:

If possible, break students into groups of 4 when introducing the 4/3/2 fluency-building exercise, as this enables them to share the 4-minute version of their talk back and forth with one person in their group, the 3-minute version with another person in their group, and the 2-minute version with the last person in their group—providing them with a new "real audience" each time.